Integrated voice and business transaction reporting for telephone call centers

ABSTRACT

An integrated voice and data business transaction detail reporting system for a telephone system (12), having a switch (14) for directing incoming telephone calls, a device (14) for generating information pertaining to voice of the incoming calls, a device (26) for generating business transaction data pertaining to the incoming calls, and a device (24) for correlating the voice information and business transaction data.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to voice and business transactionreporting systems for telephone call centers.

In the past, telephone call centers have been provided with two majorsystems, an Automatic Call Distributor (ACD) and a business data systemcomprising a host computer. The call centers use ACD-generated callstatistics to govern the operation on a day-to-day basis. Thisinformation tells the administrative staff how well the calls are beinganswered, and generally how well the staff that is answering the phonesare performing. However, these ACD reports concentrate on the elementsof the voice call only, and are oblivious to the elements of thebusiness transaction that is logged on the business data system. It isthis data system that records and reports the customer sale,reservation, or complaint, etc. and resulting benefit. Because twodisparate systems are used for business management, with each providingdetail on their respective pieces of the transaction with the customer,a significant blind spot exits that can lead the call center manager tomake erroneous decisions to the detriment of the business.

The ACD generated information is typically available in real-time andsummarized in 15 to 30 minute time periods. The information from thedata system is usually batched and available on a daily basis, wellafter the time that the business was transacted. As a result, callcenters use the ACD information as the driver to customer satisfaction,as it provides the best granularity and is available as quickly astechnically possible.

This approach to managing the business based on call information may belikened to an air traffic controller managing many airplanes coming intoan airport from information generated by two separate systems: oneprovides data on the plane's distance from the airport, and one providesdata on the altitude of the airplane. Suppose that only the distancedata was available in real-time and altitude information comes in areport received the next day. It would be virtually impossible to avoidcatastrophe if these were the only tools available, yet call centers aremanaged minute-to-minute using call data which is only one-half of thenecessary data required to make accurate decisions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A principal feature of the present invention is the provision of anintegrated voice and data business transaction detail reporting systemfor a call center of a telephone system.

The system of the present invention comprises, switch means fordirecting incoming telephone calls, means for generating informationpertaining to voice of the incoming calls, and means for generatingbusiness transaction data pertaining to the incoming calls.

A feature of the present invention is the provision of means forcorrelating the voice information and business transaction data.

Another feature of the invention is that a report may be made of thecorrelated information and data.

Yet another feature of the invention is that better informed managementdecisions may be based upon significantly increased informationincorporated in the report.

Still another feature of the invention is that the report of informationand data may be formed in a simplified and rapid manner.

Further features will become more fully apparent in the followingdescription of the embodiments of the invention, and from the appendedclaims.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view of an integrated voice and data businessdetail reporting system for a telephone system of the present invention;and

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic view of the correlation between voiceinformation and business transaction data.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a call center generallydesignated 10 for a telephone system generally designated 12. The callcenter 10 has a switch comprising an Automatic Call Distributor (ACD) 14for routing incoming telephone calls to one of a plurality of agents 16in a work station 18 commonly on the basis of the agent most availableto answer the call, with the agents 16 having suitable voice equipment,such as a telephone 20.

The ACD is connected over a transaction link or data line 22 to aComputer-Telephone-Integration (CTI) device 24 which may comprise asuitable computer in order to supply information relating to voice fromthe ACD to the CTI. In turn, the CTI is connected to a host computer 26in order to supply information relating to voice from the ACD to thehost computer 26. The host computer 26 processes the information fromthe ACD, and generates data pertaining to the voice data, such as ANI(the caller's telephone number) and DNIS (the telephone number which wasdialed), and supplies such information to the agent 16 on a suitabledisplay (Cathode Ray Tube (CRT)) 28 at the work station 18. Using theinformation from the ACD and the host computer 26, the agent 16processes the incoming telephone call.

The information supplied by the ACD is primarily related to voiceinformation only pertaining to the incoming call, such as the queue timeof the call or the duration of handling the calls, while the hostcomputer 26 typically logs information pertaining to the businesstransaction itself, such as the number of transactions, and the numberof sales per representative. In the past, this information has not beencorrelated by the system 12.

Thus, in the past, telephone call centers 10 have been provided with thetwo major systems, the Automatic Call Distributor (ACD) and the businessdata system comprising a host computer 26. The call centers useACD-generated call statistics to govern the operation on a day-to-daybasis. This information tells the administrative staff how well thecalls are being answered and generally how well the staff that isanswering the phones are performing. However, these ACD reportsconcentrate on the elements of the voice call only, and are oblivious tothe elements of the business transaction that is logged on the businessdata system. It is this data system that records and reports thecustomer sale, reservation, or complaint, etc. and resulting benefit.Because two disparate systems are used for business management, witheach providing detail on their respective pieces of the transaction withthe customer, a significant blind spot exits that can lead the callcenter manager to make erroneous decisions to the detriment of thebusiness.

The ACD generated information is typically available in real-time andsummarized in 15 to 30 minute time periods. The information from thedata system is usually batched and available on a daily basis, wellafter the time that the business was transacted. As a result, callcenters use the ACD information as the driver to customer satisfaction,as it provides the best granularity and is available as quickly astechnically possible.

In accordance with the present invention, the information pertaining tovoice, such as supplied by the ACD, and a Voice Response Unit (VRU) 30connected to the ACD, is correlated with the information pertaining tothe business transaction generated by the host computer 26. Theinformation pertaining to voice typically has times assigned to thevarious events, and the information pertaining to the businesstransactions in the host computer 26 is assigned times in order tobetter correlate the information.

A diagram of the interaction between the ACD and the host computer 26and display 28 is shown in FIG. 2. When the call first arrives,information pertaining to the call, such as ANI and DNIS, is preparedfor display on the agent's display 28 at Time T₀. If desired, the hostcomputer 26 may route the call to a particular agent at the time T₁. Atthe time T₃, an agent answers the call, and the information from thehost computer 26, such as ANI and DNIS, is connected to the display 28of the particular agent 16. At the time T₄, an inquiry is made by theagent 16 to the host computer 26, and a response is supplied by the hostcomputer 26 to the agent 16 at the time T₅. Finally, at the time T_(N)the call is wrapped up by the host computer 26, and the agent 16 hangsup.

In order to create generic integrated voice and data businesstransaction detail, an Applications Programming Interface (API) iscreated to transport in real-time elements of the ACD and PBX voice call(i.e., call arrives, call goes into queue, call is answered, etc.) andelements of the data transaction (keystrokes, data field, hostresponses, etc) to a common database that combines this disparateinformation into single records (voice+data) on an individualtransaction basis.

The message sets and formats is termed Detail Reporting ApplicationsProgramming Interface (DRAPI) which is necessary to effect thisreporting functionality in any call center environment. The componentsincluded in DRAPI are any mix of the following:

ACD, PBX, or any platform capable of switching calls

Voice Response Platform

Host or server resident applications and hardware

Voice Mail system

Individual intelligent or dumb workstations

Terminals (video display or printers) used to present the data

The business applications used to support the transactions

Computer-Telephone-Integration (CTI) applications and servers

Detail Reporting server (could be included in various components listed)

All of the components would converse to the Detail Reporting (DR) serveror application via a standard message set (DRAPI) in real-time,event-by-event. In applications where real-time communications is notpossible, transaction serial numbers may be used to track and laterconsolidate events sent to the DR server.

The DRAPI can be adopted by any application used in call centers andprovide a single, all encompassing message set to transport the data toa common data base.

An example of DR fields are as follows, and each includes transactiondata, success and failed indicators, and timings for each element:

Screen arrival time

Queue Time

VRU transaction data

Call routing information (based on customer account data, ANI, etc.)

Destination agent

Data captured

Host (server) turnaround time

Host (server) data

Transaction type

Outdial activity

Transfer activity

Notes/comments/massaging

Wrap-up data

The data relating to voice and business transactions may be correlatedor assimilated either in the host computer 26, the CTI 24, or the ACD,as desired. In suitable form, the CTI may be connected to a seconddisplay 32, such as a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT), or a printer 34 in orderto supply the combined voice and business data report to a manager, inthe case of being processed in the CTI. The second display 32 andprinter 34 may be connected to other parts of the system 12 where thedata is otherwise assimilated.

Thus, in accordance with the present invention, the informationpertaining to voice is combined with the business transaction data onthe particular calls, and a report is prepared for the manager of thecall center. As an example of the correlated data, the number of salesmay be correlated with the duration of the calls. In this manner,decisions may be made by the manager or supervisor based on morecomplete information rather than by this data separately. Thiscorrelation of data may be formed in a simplified manner, and may beprepared for the person when needed.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness ofunderstanding only, and no unnecessary limitations should be understoodtherefrom, as modification swill be obvious to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:
 1. An integrated voice and data business transactiondetail reporting for a call center of a telephone system, comprising:anautomatic call distributor for directing incoming calls to a pluralityof agents, and for generating information pertaining to the voice of thecalls; a host computer for supplying information to the agents, and forgenerating business transaction data pertaining to the incoming callsand the action of the agents; and means for correlating the voiceinformation and business transaction data in real time and forgenerating a written report containing the combined information and datain real time.
 2. The system of claim 1 wherein the host computercorrelates the information and data.
 3. The system of claim 1 whereinthe automatic call distributor correlates the information and data. 4.The system of claim 1 including a computer-telephone-integration devicecommunicating with the automatic call distributor and host computer, andin which the computer-telephone-integration device correlates theinformation and data.
 5. The system of claim 4 wherein thecomputer-telephone-integration device prepares a report of thecorrelated information and data.